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Bank buys Easynet from Murdoch
22 July 2010
CEO David Rowe stays in charge as Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB sells its interest in Easynet to a private equity arm of Lloyds Bank for £100m
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[Easynet]
[BT Global Services]
[BSkyB]
[Sky]
[Murdoch]
LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank, has bought Easynet Global Services from BSkyB, the UK satellite TV company controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News International.
The new owner — subject to regulatory approval — has hired Hanif Lalani, former CEO of BT Global Services, as a non-executive director.
Lloyds will pay £100 million for the operation, which is the international services arm of Easynet, bought by Sky at the end of 2005 for £210 million. The UK business of Easynet, including its ISP operation, has been absorbed into Sky as part of the service it offers satellite TV customers.
Easynet CEO David Rowe, who has been with the company since before Sky’s 2005 purchase, said: “This is an excellent deal for Easynet. It provides us with additional capital to help fund the company’s next phase of development, give us access to LDC’s deep sector knowledge and experience and allows us to retain a business relationship with Sky and continued access to the company’s fibre network, which are all elements that will be very beneficial to our future growth and success.”
LDC said that it is backing David Rowe and his management team. The agreement to buy Easynet is subject to regulatory approval and a works council consultation in respect of certain Easynet employees.
Easynet designs and manages data networks for large businesses as well as providing managed hosting and video conferencing solutions around the globe. It also provides fibre services for smaller businesses in the UK and the Netherlands.
As part of the deal, the assets and employees related to the corporate network management and hosting business will remain with Easynet. Sky and LDC will enter into a long-term supply agreement to grant Easynet Global Services continued access to the Sky’s national fibre network in the UK, used by Sky Broadband and Sky Talk services.
BSkyB will also continue to be a business customer of Easynet. GTB
Read the Global Telecoms Business interview with David Rowe from 2007
http://www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=2199421&Type=Search
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